Sugarloaf Pineapple

E Komo Mai! Welcome!

At Koili Point, we have planted numerous edible plants and trees. Amongst them are the sugarloaf pineapple, specifically the Ananas comosus , for those of you who were going to search that on the internet :) These are award winning pineapples gathered near Waa Waa in the forest area of Puna on the Big Island.

We have planted more than a dozen and in the next two months will continue to increase this number.

We specifically wanted the best tasting pineapple and really think we found it in the Sugarloaf variety.

The pineapples pictured here are very young and I would guess are about 12 months or so old. I do know that they can take up to 18 months to fully mature. The first time I heard that, I was quite surprised.

A couple of other facts about pineapples: Hummingbirds are the principal pollinators of pineapple, which is why the importing of hummingbirds to Hawaii is not allowed. Pineapple that is not pollinated has no seeds and is obviously more desirable than ones with seeds.

Our pineapples are ripe when the outside is mostly a rich green color with yellow dots in the center of the eyes. Most pineapples are ripe when they are a rich golden color on the outside. For the sugarloaf variety however, that would mean it's overripened.

Lastly, to propagate new pineapples, you grip the top of the pineapple and twist it off. Remove about five layers of the little prongs and place the top in a cup of water. After that, we will take over! We want you to enjoy them. The pineapples are there for you. We just ask that you follow the above steps and let us know.

In Hawaiian, pineapple is called hala kahiki. The hala has spiny leaves like a pineapple. And Kahiki is the old Hawaiian word for Tahiti. So 'hala kahiki' might literally translate to the spiny leaved plant from Tahiti.

Lastly, I want to leave you with a Hawaiian Place Name and its translation. Today's place name is Hilo and although linguists are not certain of the exact origin, popular thought is that it was the name of a famous Polynesian navigator and of the first night of the new moon.

Aloha!

Check availability for both houses at: https://www.airbnb.com/p/oceanfront-ac-pool

If there are topics you would like to know more about in future blogs, kindly let me know at koilipoint@gmail.com. Mahalo! Len